The Pace CB-166 in Smokey and the Bandit

Before cell phones, before GPS, before the internet — there was CB radio. And no movie made it look cooler than Smokey and the Bandit.

The Scene

The Bandit — Burt Reynolds at peak charisma — is running 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta in 28 hours, with Sheriff Buford T. Justice in furious pursuit. His only tactical advantage (besides a black Pontiac Trans Am and a total disregard for speed limits) is a Pace CB-166 citizens band radio mounted under the dashboard.

The CB radio is the film's communication backbone. The Bandit uses it to coordinate with Cledus "Snowman" Snow's 18-wheeler, to rally fellow truckers as blockers, and to monitor police frequencies. The radio chatter — with its "10-4," "breaker breaker," and handle culture — is as much a part of the film's identity as the car chases and Reynolds's mustache.

Smokey and the Bandit was released at the absolute peak of the CB radio craze in America. The film wasn't just riding a trend — it was accelerating it. After the movie's release, CB radio sales spiked nationwide. The Pace CB-166 and its competitors became must-have accessories for anyone with a car and a sense of outlaw romance.

The Gear

The Pace CB-166 was a mobile citizens band transceiver manufactured by Pace Communications in the mid-1970s. It operated on all 23 (later 40) CB channels in the 27 MHz band, with approximately 4 watts of output power — the FCC maximum for CB radio. The unit featured a compact under-dash mounting design, illuminated channel display, squelch control, and a coiled-cord dynamic microphone with a chrome press-to-talk lever.

Pace was one of dozens of CB radio manufacturers competing for market share during the 1970s CB boom, which was driven by the 1973 oil crisis (truckers used CB to share fuel availability), the national 55 mph speed limit (drivers used CB to warn each other about speed traps), and pop culture momentum from songs like C.W. McCall's "Convoy" (1975). At its peak, the CB industry was a $1 billion annual market.

The CB-166's chrome microphone, amber-lit channel dial, and compact form factor made it visually distinctive on screen. When Reynolds reaches for the mic, audiences immediately understand what's happening — even viewers who've never touched a CB radio recognize the gesture and the crackling, compressed audio that follows.

What we have here is a total lack of respect for the law.

— Sheriff Buford T. Justice, Smokey and the Bandit

Why It Matters

Smokey and the Bandit was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977 (behind only Star Wars), earning over $300 million worldwide against a $4.3 million budget. It permanently embedded CB radio culture into the American imagination. The film's language — "10-4," "Smokey," "hammer down" — entered the mainstream vocabulary and hasn't fully left it.

On the collector market, vintage Pace CB-166 units sell for $60–$200 on eBay, depending on condition and whether they include the original microphone and mounting bracket. The mic is often the most sought-after component, as many units survive with replacement mics. Complete, working Pace setups with original packaging command premium prices from both CB collectors and movie prop enthusiasts.

The broader vintage CB market is robust: brands like Cobra, Uniden, and President from the 1970s–80s trade actively on eBay, with prices ranging from $30 for basic units to $500+ for rare or pristine examples. For Smokey fans, the Pace CB-166 is the authentic choice — but any chrome-mic 1970s CB radio captures the era perfectly.

The Gear Cards

Modern Alternatives

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